“GodsdamnitGodsdamnitGodsdamnitGodsdamnit!” Annika muttered under her breath in a steady stream as she stepped into her carriage and slammed the door behind her before the footman could do so.

“Are you cursing because of the meeting with the King or because of your meeting with Physician Durand?” Clara asked casually as though she hadn’t been sweating the entire day trying to maneuver the Queen out of the nursery so that the Viscountess could have a private word with the Physician.

Annika didn’t answer as she shoved her elbow on the carriage windowsill, then dropped her forehead to her hand.

“The Physician.”

“Congratulations,” Clara replied, her tone light and uncompromising.

“Son of a mage, I was drinking the contraceptive tea like you told me to, how in the world did this happen?” Annika snapped accusatively to her maid who responded by lifting an amused eyebrow.

“It generally does work, but the two of you spent a great deal of time in your chamber… Plus, I seem to recall a night you were out of your chambers before I gave you those tea leaves… In fact,” Clara frowned for a moment as she counted on her fingers, and a slow devilish smile crept across her cheeks. “Given your current condition, your new bundle of joy must be a result of the masquerade.”

The stricken look on Annika’s face lasted for several moments, before it crumbled into mortification.

“Gods… DAMNIT!”

“Come now, you always love a challenge. Just think of this surprise as a political hurdle to overcome.” Clara waved her hand while leaning back into her seat comfortably.

“Even I’m beginning to think I’m biting off more than I can chew…” Annika sighed wearily.

Turning to stare at the passing scenery, the Viscountess’ mind flitted back to when she had first noticed feeling somewhat off…

Fin had proposed… and then she had felt… dizzy.

Then she had burst out in tears after the redhead had left, a sight that had Clara blinking in astonishment. The maid had then tactfully asked, “What in the world is wrong with you? Are you pregnant?”

Of course the Lady had then gone to see the Queen, and been faced with Katelyn Ashowan.

‘One touch from that woman and she would know for certain before I do…’

When the healer had handed her the baby Princess, Annika’s heart had been in her throat as she thanked the Gods that she had worn gloves.

Then her dresses had felt snug in certain areas… and her cycle hadn’t started.

All small changes, but luckily, Fin wasn’t around enough to notice them. She had just been hit with the waves of exhaustion in the previous two days… and at long last Clara had demanded she see a physician.

Annika sighed wearily, her mind returning to the present day. Despite sleeping in, she still felt as though she’d been run over by a stampede of horses.

“So how are you going to tell Mr. Ashowan?”

“Gods… it’s too early to do that.”

Clara’s eyes cast down to Annika’s breasts and rose back to her mistress’ annoyed gaze.

“Mr. Ashowan is not an idiot, my Lady. Though did you ask Physician Durand about the weight gain? Even if it was from the masquerade, you’ve thickened at least two or three inches-”

The deadly glare Annika gave the maid stopped her from finishing her sentence. With a sigh, Clara tried a different tactic.

“My Lady, I’m not trying to poke fun at you, but you do seem to be changing quite quickly.”

Annika continued to scowl for a moment as the carriage jostled around them before she turned back to the window.

After a few moments of tense silence, she finally spoke.

“I brought it up. I have been eating more and that could just be because of having Fin cook for me so often, but the Physician did say… for my first pregnancy it was a bit strange. He then said that for some… women… if there was more than one babe-”

“Twins?!” Clara’s normally calm exterior was suddenly nowhere to be found as her blue eyes widened and she leaned forward earnestly.

Startled by the maid’s loud response, Annika ended up shushing her while blushing deeply.

“It isn’t a guarantee, only a possibility… It could just be how much I’m eating,” the Viscountess declared confidently, though her eyes betrayed her certainty.

Clara’s jaw remained dropped, until she finally managed to mutter,“Gods, who knew Ashowan would be such a one shot wonder…”

“Stop looking at me like that. Just make fun of me for eating too much like you have been and let’s not discuss this unless absolutely necessary.”

Annika turned back to her carriage window yet again, and did her best to push thoughts of pregnancy and scandal as far from her mind as possible.

She was beginning to succeed while thinking about the meeting with the King, when Clara suddenly burst out laughing.

Turning her head, Annika stared at the maid glumly.

“Pardon me, my Lady, it’s just… Gods… can you imagine how much of a family hug Katelyn Ashowan almost got this morning?!”

“Clara, I think you should walk the rest of the way back to the estate.”

*

Fin awoke in the middle of the night to the forced hushed voices of his mother and Captain Antonio. His head was pounding, his mouth felt dry… He couldn’t remember how he even got to his cottage. Wasn’t his mother supposed to be at Annika’s estate?

“-get him drunk!”

“It honestly helped the King forgive him a little bit; it was not as bad as you think.”

“Why is this job turning my son into an alcoholic?!”

“Hardly an alcoholic. Besides, he didn’t blast anyone off the grounds this time!”

“I’ll blast you off these grounds if you-”

Fin vomited into the water pitcher beside his bed before he could hear the rest of his mother’s threat to the Captain.

The door to the room opened and light poured in, making Fin let out another long groan.

What the redhead was unable to see at that moment was Kate’s exasperated expression as she gestured to her pained son and faced off with the Captain.

“I’m sorry, lass.” Antonio cleared his throat and averted his gaze from the very obviously hungover cook.

“Because he was demanded to drink yesterday, I will fix him up with minimal suffering. I want you to wait here, I’m not through with you!” Kate snapped before entering Fin’s room and slamming the door behind herself.

Antonio did his best to ignore the terrible noises that were omitted from behind the door, but after an hour had passed, he began to wonder if he’d ever be able to look Finlay in the eyes again.

“There. He should be able to recover enough to work in a few hours,” Kate announced while exiting the room and storming over to the Captain who was doing his best to pretend that the scent of sick wasn’t churning his own stomach.

“Now, what does the King want to do about Finlay and Annika’s betrothal?”

“Well… between you and I… the Queen has convinced him to take a similar approach that the former King took with Norman.” Antonio watched his betrothed, and noted the guarded moves she made. She was angry, yes… but beneath all of that she was scared.

“What did the former King do?”

“He put the Queen’s husband through a series of trials. There were tests and lessons to ensure he was the right person to be the next ruler.”

Kate’s face paled. “What sort of tests and lessons?”

“A good amount of etiquette and what is deemed courtly behavior… but the biggest one…” Antonio cleared his throat. “An impressive contribution to the well-being of Daxaria.”

“I see. What was his majesty’s big contribution back when he was undergoing these trials?” Kate demanded, her tone acid.

“His majesty strategized and laid the groundwork to reduce reliance on other countries for our goods and supplies.” Antonio shrugged. “More or less he helped the entire kingdom prosper, and used his personal funds to start the changes.”

“Oh.” Clearly surprised by the purely political handling of the matter, a lot of wind left the healer’s sails.

“Fin will be fine. Lady Jenoure has even volunteered to schedule a meeting with Mr. Helmer. She thinks she can get more information out of him, but… neither she nor the King want Fin to know.”

Kate’s lips pursed as she vividly recalled how only that morning the woman her son intended to marry had literally bolted from her when she had tried to mend the rift between them.

“Is the Viscountess capable of handling someone like Aidan?” she asked, the tension in her voice noticeable.

“I don’t know, but it’s not a bad idea. It was strange that he focused on both her and Finlay… we want to figure out how much he knows, and I doubt he will expect the Viscountess to want to speak to him herself.”

Katelyn crossed her arms over her chest and began to chew her bottom lip, but after a brief second of thought, she straightened her shoulders and met the Captain’s eye boldly.

“I want to be there.”

“Where?” Antonio asked perplexed.

“In the meeting with Aidan and Lady Jenoure,” Kate announced boldly.

“I don’t think that’d be wise,” Antonio started slowly.

“My future daughter-in-law is going to be in a room alone with my ex-husband. She needs someone on her side, and… I can make sure he gets rattled.” There was a fire in her eyes that made Antonio hesitate before trying to argue with her.

“It would have to be cleared by the King, and Kate, I don’t want you agitating your former husband. He could try to hurt you.”

“I’m tired of being scared of Aidan!” The healer burst out vehemently, her hands falling to her sides and balling into fists.

“I know, lass. This isn’t the way to-”

“No! This is not about me overcoming my fear, I just don’t want it used as an excuse to hide. No, this is about helping protect Fin’s future wife. I don’t want to still be cowering from my ex-husband… I spent nine years doing just that, and it’s high time I should be able to act without fearing his reaction.”

Antonio stared at Kate for several moments, his head cocked to the side as he watched her flushed face and rapid breaths. He had seen enough men caught up in the heat of their emotions to know that given a few extra minutes, there would be a slight dip in their intensity, and it was then that a message would be better heard.

Sure enough, Kate’s breathing mellowed after a few quiet moments, and the color in her cheeks lessened, and so, he spoke quietly.

“Lass, I respect what you’re trying to do, but we need to first confirm with his majesty and Lady Jenoure before we can allow such a thing.”

Kate’s jaw screwed itself shut.

Antonio knew that expression as well.

Defiance.

With a long sigh, he resigned himself to a lengthy night of talking with his betrothed, and cursed Aidan Helmer for the millionth time since learning his name.

*

Kate sat in the solar, her legs and arms both crossed as she waited for the Viscountess to join her.

She had not slept a wink, yet the Lady Jenoure was apparently able to sleep soundly despite the calamity surrounding her betrothed.

The icy maid named Clara entered the solar, her face its usual mask of serenity.

“I apologize for the wait, Mrs. Ashowan. Lady Jenoure has been stressed as of late. She will join you as soon as possible.”

Kate felt her teeth set themselves on edge as the rest of her body grew rigid.

“I recognize that the Viscountess is being incredibly generous to a lowly physician such as myself by hosting me as a guest. However, what I wish to discuss is important.”

Clara didn’t bat an eye as she curtsied in response, and took her leave.

*

Annika dragged herself from her bed with great difficulty, and cursed Finlay in several colorful ways despite knowing she too bore responsibility for the situation.

“Mrs. Ashowan seems quite annoyed, I suggest you try to hurry,” Clara explained as she watched her mistress blearily evaluate her clothing options.

“Going… as fast… as I can.” Annika mumbled with half lidded eyes before she selected a burgundy dress with gold edging.

As Clara aided her in donning the gown, the Lady let out a small ‘oomph’ when the maid began lacing her up.

“Truly, you are growing quite quickly, my Lady. If Mr. Ashowan sees you anytime soon without your gowns, he will notice.” Clara dropped her hand to the undeniable growth in Annika’s abdomen that had appeared over the past week. Her normally flat and toned middle had suddenly swollen by her hips, and it was taking on a very telling shape.

“The physician predicts I will give birth the beginning of next spring, so I’m sure this is just my carelessness in my food consumption.”

“Or twins,” Clara reminded helpfully.

Annika suddenly felt like weeping.

Sensing the shift in mood of her mistress, Clara altered her tact.

“What is your plan for today?”

“I need to find out what Mrs. Ashowan wants, then I have the meeting with Aidan Helmer. After all of the in-law meetings… have a nap. Perhaps eat some fruit…”

“Fruit?” Clara asked, bewildered.

“Yes. Peaches specifically. If you find me a bushel of peaches, I will give you a raise,” Annika explained before straightening and fixing her maid with a blunt stare.

“Gods, does pregnancy make everyone this mad?” Clara asked with obvious dread.

Immediately, Annika felt moisture well up in her eyes, and it made her want to murder someone as a result.

“I am still myself… I can still do everything I could before, it’s just I’ve… I’ve been compromised!” The cursed tears were already spilling over from her eyes- though she hated every single one of them. “I’m just tired!”

Clara watched as though her mistress were being gutted before her. The disgust and fear clear on her face. “This is going to be a very long seven and a half months.”

Annika dabbed the tears with the back of her sleeves before facing her maid with obviously forced gusto.

“Can you tell my state if you didn’t know?”

Clara sighed. “No. I can’t. I must say, you are not making marriage seem very agreeable, my Lady.”

“Gods, I wasn’t even sure I wanted children, what in the world am I doing?! We’ve only been together a few weeks!” Annika burst into fresh sobs that sent her maid’s eyes rolling until she sported a spectacular view of the back of her skull.

“A veeeery long seven and a half months,” Clara muttered with a sigh before reaching out and patting the normally formidable Viscountess on the back with the feeble hope of calming her down.